Daniel James Lester, It's Got A Ring To It
by fantasticxfoursome
Summary: Dan and Phil had been best friends ever since they were little babies, and its taken Dan 18 years to tell Phil how he's felt. Fast forward and now they find out that they're parents had set them both up for an arranged marriage, and neither of them are happy about it.


Dan Howell sighed as he stood quietly in front of the mirror, staring at himself.

It was a Friday evening when Dan just about to go on a "date" with his best friend, his friend who had been his best friend since they were practically little babies. They were together all the time, no matter where they were or who they were with. Dan and Phil were almost attached to the hip, some people might say. Everybody knew Dan and Phil were best friends, some people even mistaken them as a couple... even though they actually technically weren't dating each other. Whenever it happened, they just laughed it off and went back to doing whatever they were doing. It hurt Dan though, sometimes, because he had real feelings for Phil and Phil didn't have a single clue about how he felt. Dan was just too scared to say anything to Phil.

Most people only knew of them because they came from high class rich families; Dan's father was a very wealthy business man and so was Phil's. The Howell's and the Lester's lived next door to each other, and have ever since Dan and Phil's parents were in school.

Now Dan was 18-years-old and was growing up. He had known all of his life that he was gay and that he preferred boys over girls, and luckily the people in his town supported him. He would have been in big trouble if he wasn't supported, so he was thankful that he was.

"Uh, Dan? What exactly are you doing over there?"

Dan was quickly shaken out of his thoughts. Dan looked over and sighed when he saw his little brother standing in the doorway. "I'm making sure I look nice for when I go out with Phil tonight. What do you want, anyways?" He asked, sighing slightly.

"Mum wanted me to tell you dinner would be ready in five... but I guess you don't need to know that... since you won't even be here for dinner tonight," Alex said. "Does mum and dad know?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he stared at Dan.

"No. I completely forgot to tell them," Dan said. He sighed.

"Mum's not going to be very happy," Alex smirked slightly.

"I'll be fine. Can you leave? I need to fix my hair," Dan snapped.

"Your hair looks fine. Just be yourself Dan,"

Dan raised his eyebrows as he looked over at his brother. "Really? Thanks Al," He said. He was a little surprised, because even though they did get along with each other... they didn't compliment each other or try to help each other out. Alex had never said anything to him like that before.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "No problem. I've realized that you worry too much about little things... like this, right now. It's really annoying sometimes," He said before he turned around and walked out of Dan's bedroom, finally leaving Dan by himself again.

Dan chuckled before he looked back at the mirror again, and sighed, before shaking his head.

Dan couldn't help but be a little nervous for tonight, even though he was definitely more excited than nervous. He's had a crush on Phil for years now, ever since he was a little boy. Phil was four-years-older than him though, and he's had more experienced with the dating scene. Dan had been too shy and scared to say anything to him about how he really felt. But tonight, was going to be the night that Dan finally came clean and let Phil know how he felt about him.

"Daniel! Come downstairs, Philip's at the door for you!"

Dan squealed excitedly as soon as he heard his mother's voice. "He's here! Oh God, I'm starting to sound like a teenage girl going on her first date-" Dan rolled his eyes. He quickly grabbed his jacket and slipped on his shoes before he finally went downstairs.

"Dan, you didn't tell us you were going out with Phil tonight?" Diane, Dan's mom, said to him.

"I forgot to tell you and I know I should have said something. Can I still go? I'll be back before curfew," Dan promised, hoping his mom would say yes.

Diane sighed and then nodded. "Yes. Next time, be sure to tell us Daniel," She said.

"See you later," Dan called as he ran over to the door. He opened the door and smiled when he saw Phil standing there. "Sorry to keep you waiting like that."

"No worries. You look great... by the way," Phil stated with a smile.

Dan blushed. "Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself," He whispered. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, of course I am. You know me, I'm always ready!" Phil laughed that laugh that Dan loved all too much. "Where are we going anyways?" He asked curiously as he watched Dan step out onto the porch and then shut the door behind him, locking it afterwards.

"A fancy restaurant. It just opened a few days ago," Dan told him.

"Oh, that one? I've heard good reviews about it," Phil said as they walked off the porch.

"Me too. Apparently their food is really good so I think we'll be okay," Dan added.

Dan and Phil finally made it to the restaurant that was only 10 minutes away from Dan's house. They had decided to walk, even though Phil did have his license and they could have gotten their faster if they had driven in Phil's car. Dan liked walking better anyways... it gave him more time to spend with Phil. They talked about everything and nothing. Moments like these were the reasons why Dan loved Phil so much.

"Well, you were right about the food being delicious," Phil said as he took another bite of his dinner. Dan and Phil ended up on going with a steak dinner.

"See? You worried all for nothing," Dan said with a grin.

Phil rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh, shut up!" He laughed. "I'm glad we went out tonight."

"Yeah, me too-" Dan couldn't help but smile. He took a deep breath as he looked up at Phil again. He needed to tell Phil now, or else he wouldn't be able to tell him at all. If he waited, then he would freak himself out and talk himself out of telling Phil... and he couldn't let that happen. It was now or never.

"Dan, are you alright?" Phil asked, blinking a few times as he stared at Dan.

Dan quickly shook his head. "Um, actually. There's something that I need to tell you,"

"Okay. What is it?" Phil asked, sitting his fork down on his plate. He looked finally up at Dan, wanting to give Dan his full attention, because what Dan had to say to him actually seemed pretty serious... which wasn't usual because Dan was never ever serious.

Dan sighed. "This isn't easy for me. Please promise you won't freak out on me?" He begged.

"Whoa. Relax, Dan. What's going on?" Phil asked, suddenly becoming a little worried.

"I've been feeling... a certain feeling towards you for a long time now. A really long time... and I've been too scared to say anything to you. It's okay if you don't have the same feelings towards me. I'm just tired of keeping these feelings bottled up inside," Dan sighed.

"Dan, i-is this going where I think it's going?" Phil asked, a little shocked.

"I-I'm in lo-love with you Phil Lester," Dan said quietly.

"Dan-" Phil's eyes went wide with shock. "I-I'm actually a little shocked. Why didn't you say anything before?" He asked. He couldn't help but smile though.

"I was scared. I didn't know if you felt the same way or not," Dan mumbled.

Phil chuckled and shook his head. "That's ridiculous," He said.

"What do you mean?" Dna asked, blinking a few times.

"I mean... I've been in love with you too for a while now. I'm happy that you brought this up because I didn't know how much longer I could keep my feelings a secret," Phil told him. He was grinning like an idiot, and he didn't care. His crush felt the way that he felt, and that's all that he's ever wanted.

Dan's jaw dropped. "Are you being serious Phil?" He couldn't believe what his ears were hearing.

"One hundred percent serious Dan," Phil said. He grinned.

"Oh my fucking God. Why did I wait so long to tell you this?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, why did you wait so long to tell me?" Phil asked, giggling.

"Hey! You waited just as long as I did!" Dan exclaimed. He rolled his eyes playfully.

"So, um... does this make us boyfriends now?" Phil asked hopefully.

"Nobody asked me to be their boyfriend," Dan smirked slightly.

"Oh okay. Right then! Daniel James Howell, would you do the honors of being my boyfriend?" Phil asked, sitting straight up in his seat as he spoke.

Dan beamed. "Why yes! Philip Michael Lester, I would love to," He answered.

Phil also beamed. "I didn't think this would be how our night would end," He said.

"The night's not over yet," Dan quickly added. He couldn't help but smile.

"True. We need to celebrate after dinner later," Phil said.

Dan nodded in agreement. "Yes. We definitely need to celebrate," He sighed happily.

xxxxxx

"What do you mean I'm getting married?!" Dan screamed at his parents.

It was two days later after Dan and Phil's date, after they officially became boyfriends. They've been together ever since they've become a couple. Today was the first time they haven't been together since then. The weird thing was that they hadn't even told their parents about their relationship yet. They had both decided mutually that they wanted to wait a little while before they told their family and friends.

"Daniel, calm down honey. Let us explain-"

It was Sunday afternoon when Dan's parents had dropped the bomb on him, that he was part of an arranged marriage with another boy. Since his parents knew he was gay, they wanted to make sure that Dan would be with a boy. They wanted him to at least be happy.

"I don't want an explanation!" Dan yelled. He sighed as he paced back in forth in his bedroom, where he and his parents were at. His mom and dad were sitting on his bed, watching him carefully as he paced back and forth. Pacing was something Dan did when he was upset or nervous, his parents knew that.

"Dan, I think you'll be happy with this boy that we've chosen for you," Diane said calmly.

"That's not the point!" Dan yelled. He stopped pacing and looked at his parents. "You shouldn't have chosen anyone for me! I want to be able to chose who I want to be with for the rest of my life! I don't even know this guy. He could be abusive, a rapist!" Dan exclaimed.

"Ridiculous. We do want you to be happy Dan," Jack, Dan's dad, said.

"Honestly Dan. Do you really think we'd make you marry a rapist?" Diane asked.

"This isn't fair!" Dan cried, throwing his arms up. How could his parents do this to him?

"Dan, we just want you to be happy," Diane said.

"Do you think forcing me to marry someone that I don't even know will make me happy?!"

"If you let us talk then we can tell you about the boy…" Jack began to say.

"No! I don't want to talk about the bloody boy!" Dan yelled, breathing hard.

"You're meeting the boy in a week. I expect you to be on your best behavior," Jack warned as he and Diane stood up from the bed. "We'll call for you when dinner's ready." He gently grabbed his wife's hand and led the way out of their sons bedroom, leaving Dan all by himself.

"Fuck!" Dan screamed as he slammed his bedroom door shut. Dan usually didn't swear around his parents, because he knew how upset they got whenever he did swear. But, Dan was just so angry that his parents arranged a marriage for him without his was only 18, he didn't want to get married this young. He had just gotten into his first relationship!

Dan jumped onto his bed, landing on his stomach, and he buried his face into his pillow. He screamed into the pillow for a good few seconds, before he rolled onto his back. He sat up and then he immediately grabbed his phone from the bedside table and sent a text to Phil.

**To: Phil**

**From: Dan**

_We need to talk asap! Something happened x_

A week has passed since then. Dan and Phil haven't really seen each other since they announcement of Dan's arranged marriage. It was breaking Dan's heart that he had no idea what was going on with Phil, or how he was feeling. Dan's parents weren't letting him leave the house really, which annoyed Dan even more. All he wanted to do was see Phil, just Phil.

"Do I have to be blindfolded?" Dan asked, clearly annoyed at his parents.

"Yes Dan, we want it to be a surprise dear," Diane said cheerfully as she made sure Dan's blindfold was on correctly so that he couldn't see anything. "You will like this boy, trust me. We've already met him and you've got a lot in common with each other. He's a very nice boy, you'll see."

"I'm still not happy about this. I won't forgive your or dad," Dan grumbled.

"Shush Daniel, enough of that. Be on your best behavior," Diane warned.

Dan looked up as soon as he heard the doorbell go off, even though he couldn't even see anything. "Is that him?" He was getting nervous. What if he didn't end up liking this boy? What if he ended up unhappy for the rest of his life? What if he did end up loving this boy? What would happen between him and Phil? Would he have to leave Phil and break his heart? The thought of possibly having to hurt his best friend absolutely broke his heart, he couldn't do that to Phil!

"Dan, I can hear your heart pounding. Calm down dear," Diane said calmly.

"Mum, I'm scared," Dan whined, and he wasn't lying either.

"Just wait a few seconds. You won't be scared for much longer," Diane told him.

"Mum, this is so annoying. I can't see anything," Phil grumbled, annoyance running through his voice as he was led into a house, with his eyes blindfolded, just like Dan's. "This is stupid and ridiculous. Why do I have this stupid thing on anyways?" He asked.

"Enough Philip. Because, we want you to be surprised when you meet your future husband," Phil's mother said.

"I don't want to meet my future husband. I don't want to be getting married," Phil snapped.

"Enough now Philip. Just be thankful that we picked a boy for you," Phil's father snapped.

"Elliot, Paula! Good to see you again," Phil blinked a few times when he heard the familiar voice.

"And you too. Is he ready to meet Phil?" Phil's mother, Paula, asked.

"Yes. He's very nervous though so we should probably get this over with now," The voice said.

"Yes please. I want this stupid blindfold off of me," Phil grumbled.

"Just a few more seconds," Elliot told his son, chuckling softly. He knew that his son was anxious about meeting the boy who he would be spending the rest of his life with, but he didn't want him to be nervous. He wanted him to be excited and happy about it.

"Come with me," Paula told Phil as she gently grabbed a hold of him. She finally started pushing him forward until they reached the lounge room, where Dan and Diane were currently at. "Hello Diane." Paula greeted as she walked in with Phil.

"Ah, there you are!" Diane said, smiling as soon as she saw Phil's parents walk in with Phil.

"Don't talk… either of you," Elliot warned as they all walked into the room.

Phil pouted, but remained silent… as his parents requested.

"Okay, here we go. The moment we've all been waiting for," Diane said with a smile on her face. She took Dan's blindfold off but made sure that his back was still facing Phil's. "Ready?" She whispered, staring at her son right in the eye, trying to figure out how he was feeling at the moment.

Dan slowly nodded, but didn't say anything because his parents asked him too.

Paula finally took the blindfold off of Phil, and just as she did… Diane carefully turned Dan around so now that Dan and Phil were finally facing each other. Phil nervously looked up and gasped as soon as he saw that Dan was standing in front of him. "D-Dan?" He asked with shock.

Dan also looked up and his eyes went wide when he saw Phil. "Phil?" He asked. He looked over at his mom again. "What's going on? Why's Phil here?" He asked. "I'm happy but… confused. What the hell is going on?" Dan asked, blinking a few times. He'd never been more confused in his life before.

"We've watched you and Phil grow up together, even when you thought we weren't paying attention to you... we were. You two are best friends and Dan, its so obvious how you feel about him. We pretty much already arranged the marriage when you were born, as we were all best friends growing up. Once we found out I was pregnant with you, we immediately set something up. It just felt right. So, how do you feel now?" Diane asked.

"What would you have done if me and Phil hated each other?" Dan asked curiously.

"We would have figured something out, just like we always do," John told him.

"So… Phil's the boy you were trying to tell me about earlier?" Dan asked hopefully.

Diane nodded. "Yes, he's the boy," She answered.

"The funny thing is… me and Dan just got together two days ago when we went out," Phil said, speaking up for the first time. He took a deep breath. "I actually asked Dan to be my boyfriend and he said yes. We've already started dating without you four knowing about it!"

"And why didn't we hear about this?" Elliot asked, raising his eyebrows.

"We wanted to wait a little before we told anybody," Dan told him. "Just in case."

"Looks like things worked out then," Diane said, laughing softly.

Dan looked over at Phil and grinned. "Who's taking who's last name?" He asked.

"I like the sound of Daniel James Lester, it's got a ring to it," Phil said, also grinning.

Dan ran over to Phil and hugged him tightly, burying his head in Phil's chest. "Holy fuck Phil," He whispered.

Phil chuckled. "I love you," He whispered as he wrapped his arms around Dan's waist.

"I wanted to say it first," Dan whined as he looked up at Phil.

"Damn. Guess I beat you to it," Phil chuckled. He leaned down and kissed Dan gently.

Dan smiled as he kissed Phil back, sighing happily. "Dan Lester,"

"You'll get used to it in no time," Phil said. He laughed and kissed Dan again.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A year has passed since Dan and Phil had learned that their parents had set up an arranged marriage for them. They couldn't be happier about being engaged. They were both extremely happy and couldn't wait to start their new life together. Everybody was excited for them.

"Mum, I'm so nervous. What if I say the wrong thing?" Dan asked as he kept on fixing his tie, trying to make himself look absolutely perfect for Phil.

Today was the big day. Dan and Phil were getting married. They were having a small wedding, they both agreed that they only wanted family and close friends to come. Everybody in their small town wanted to come… but they didn't allow it. Though there had already been some gate crashes, which angered Dan and Phil. This was supposed to be _their_ special day.

"Stop worrying so much. You're going to be just fine!" Diane said, as she walked over to her son. "My little boy is all grown up now. He's getting married!"

"It's your fault, you know?" Dan asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked over at her.

"Well I know that. I just didn't think it would happen so soon," She said.

Dan rolled his eyes playfully. "I'll still be your little boy mum," He said.

Diane smiled as she looked up at her son. "Promise?" She asked.

"Of course I promise," He said. He took a deep breath.

"Take a deep breath, Dan. You're going to be fine," John said.

Any second now, Dan will be walking down the isle with his father. Dan was about to get married to the love of his life. He was nervous, but he was definitely more excited than nervous. He'd been waiting for this moment for a whole year, and he just couldn't wait to become Daniel Lester.

"What if I trip and make myself look like an idiot in front of him?" Dan asked.

"Knowing Phil, he'll just laugh and think it's adorable," John replied.

"I guess so. I just want everything to be perfect," Dan said.

"And it will be… you just gotta stop freaking yourself out, alright Bear?"

Dan froze. His father hadn't called him 'Bear' in years, and Dan kind of missed it. Bear was his family nickname, ever since he was little. Now even Phil has started to call him Bear. Dan didn't like it at first, and he let people know that. But, they kept calling him that and he eventually got used to it.

"Daniel, are you alright?" John asked, shaking Dan a few times.

"Oh, um-" Dan shook his head. "Yes. I'm fine. Let's do this."

"That's my boy," John said. The doors opened, and everybody stood up when Dan and his father walked into the church. All eyes were on Dan, and Dan was surprised that he wasn't panicking, considering how he was just acting minutes before the wedding actually started.

Dan looked up and smiled when he saw Phil was standing at the front of the church already, looking absolutely gorgeous in his wedding suit. Dan's breath was taken away, and he couldn't believe that he was going to get married to this man. He had no idea how he got this lucky.

John walked Dan up to the front, and now Dan was standing in front of Phil.

"You look beautiful," Phil whispered as he took Dan's hands in his own, smiling proudly as he started at his husband-to-be.

Dan blushed, but he smiled nonetheless. "So do you," He said.

"Are you ready for this?" Phil asked quietly, keeping his eyes on Dan.

"Yes, I am. Couldn't be more ready," Dan beamed.

"Are you two ready to get started?" The man asked.

"Yes," Dan and Phil both said at the same time.


End file.
